Doctor workload 'unsustainable'

Dr Johann Scholtz is a private GP and the medical superintendent at the Moranbah Hospital and says there are currently four GPs in the town

He says that is not enough to meet the projected demand and the Government needs to offer incentives to attract doctors to the area.

Dr Scholtz says the doctors are stressed because the work demands are relentless.

"I'm pretty much here from 6:30 in the morning and you leave after 6:00 in the evening and then you've still got to go and do the hospital," he said.

"Then on top of that there are issues around getting a suitable locums if you do want to go away for the weekend or a holiday.

"Locum relief is an ongoing problem that we struggle with."

Dr Scholtz says he predicts the situation will only get worse.

"The way the mines are expanding within the next six to 12 months, we're looking at another 6,000 in the area, so that'll bring us up to one in 5,250, which is totally unsustainable and unacceptable," he said.

Dr Scholtz says all levels of government and the mining industry need to help find a solution.

"All I can see is that medical services will become unsustainable and the service will collapse," he said.

"That's the long and the short of it. The Central Highlands will be without doctors."

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